Over time, I will add resources to this website that will help you explore the night sky. Venus and Jupiter Conjunction Flip Book (10 – 20 March 2012) In March 2012, Venus and Jupiter will be easily visible to the unaided eye close together in the evening twilight sky. Mid-month, the two planets will rapidly [...]
Introduction Heavens-Above.com provides free customised information for your location including whole sky star charts, predictions for the visibility of the International Space Station and other satellites (including Iridium flares). Bookmarks for all capital cities are provided below. If you are located elsewhere, you can customise one of the below links to your location. All you [...]
The Australian Curriculum ’Earth and space science’ resources I am slowly adding a range of resources to this site that support your teaching of The Australian Curriculum ‘Earth and space’ component. They can be easily found by clicking on ‘The Australian Curriculum’ tag on the front page of this website. At the time of writing these resources [...]
This page has been prepared to inform you about the many and in some cases once in a lifetime astronomical events that will be occurring throughout 2012. Events are listed in chronological order. A version of this article written for classroom teachers can be downloaded here: Teacher_Newsletter_Special_Edition_2012 Mars at opposition What? Mars reaches opposition on Sunday [...]
Moon passes Venus (25 – 28 January 2012)
Step outside as the evening twilight ends over the next few nights to watch the crescent Moon pass Venus above the Western horizon. If you are a teacher covering the Earth & Space Sciences section of the Australian Curriculum (Science) this term, don’t forget to ask your students to watch this slow ‘event’. What your [...]
Don’t forget Venus and Jupiter tonight in the evening twilight!
Venus and Jupiter have been so prominent in the evening twilight for so long above the West (Venus) and North West (Jupiter) horizon, it is easy to forget they are there! My favourite is Jupiter. Unlike Venus which has nothing to look at apart from it’s changing phases through a small telescope, Jupiter will reward you with [...]
Live in Western Australia? Kosmos 2176 satellite re-entry possibly visible shortly
If you live in Western Australia, you might want to look up for a re-entering satellite this morning. Kosmos 2176 is currently in a 69 x 614 km orbit, meaning that at it’s lowest point it is passing through the Earth’s upper atmosphere slowing it dramatically. Kosmos 2176 is expected to re-enter today at 8.55 [...]
Watch Betelgeuse dim as asteroid 2005 UW381 transits it
If you are located in a narrow path, running from India though the Middle East and towards France, and you are interested in monitoring asteroids, keep reading. The asteroid 2005 UW 381 will pass in front of the super giant star Betelgeuse (the brightest star in the constellation of Orion). The transit will occur on January 2 2012 [...]
Take an image using (free) NASA robotic telescopes
If you are covering the ‘Space Sciences’ component of the Australian Curriculum (Science) this term, why not get your students to take their own photograph of a celestial object (such as the Moon or a galaxy) using a robotic telescope? You don’t need any technical knowledge of how to use the telescope (it uses a [...]
A better water rocket launcher
If you are using water rockets in your teaching this year, you might be interested in the following. Thanks to a friend of mine, I went to Jaycar and purchased a Aquapod Bottle Rocket Launcher. Unlike other commercial launchers, the Aquapod has a remote trigger (picture a long piece of string) – which means that [...]
Amazing Space! January – March 2012 student newsletter now available
The ‘Amazing Space!’ January – March 2012 student newsletter is now available for free download from my website. The direct link for downloading the newsletter is: Amazing_Space_Newsletter_January_March_2012 The newsletter’s content for this issue (Term 1 2012) includes finder charts to assist your students in locating Venus and Jupiter (both easily visible to the unaided eye) , [...]